Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to ensure that public transport ticket price increases are kept to a minimum.

I recognise concerns passengers have about impacts of fares on household budgets, which is why for the first time in a decade average regulated rail fares were capped at inflation for 2014 and will also be capped at RPI+0% for 2015, removing the previously planned increase of rail fares of RPI+1%. Furthermore, for 2015, train operating companies will no longer be able to increase individual fares by up to 2% more than the permitted increase. By way of context, rail passenger journeys have doubled since privatisation and increased by a quarter in the last five years.

Bus services outside London are deregulated and fares are mainly a matter for the commercial judgment of bus operators. However, the Government has made a commitment to retain the current Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) rate for the remainder of this Parliament. The subsidy means that bus operators’ net fuel costs are around 40% lower which can enable operators to keep bus fares approximately 4% lower than they otherwise would be.

Government has also maintained free bus travel in England for eligible older and disabled people. By way of context, the number of bus journeys in England in 2013/14 was 4.7 billion, the highest recorded number since privatisation. In addition, for the first time since 2008/09, 2013/14 saw a year-on-year increase in overall bus use outside London.